Senior meals program hurt by budget cuts

Thursday

Mar 28, 2013 at 9:45 AM

Delivery eliminated two Fridays a month

Lisa Depies

Federal budgetary cuts mean fewer meals for local seniors.“Two Fridays a month we can no longer deliver meals to Geneseo and Colona-Green Rock,” said Casandra Schmoll, executive director of Henry County Senior Center Inc.“Geneseo and Colona-Green Rock are the only towns we deliver to on Fridays. The rest of the week, we also deliver to Galva, Andover, Orion, Cambridge and Kewanee,” she noted.Cutting meals for two Fridays a month affects approximately 78 seniors. In addition by eliminating the deliveries, hours are reduced for two staff members.“We’ve also had to implement a waiting list for home delivered meals, which we’ve never had to do before,” said Schmoll. On a daily basis, Henry County Senior Center staff members deliver 276 meals to elderly residents in the county. In addition, another 65 to 80 meals are prepared for seniors eating at designated meal sites in Geneseo, Kewanee and Orion.“People think we’re just a quiet little operation that delivers 20 or 25 meals a day. They have no comprehension of how much we do or that we cover all of Henry County,” she said.“There’s a big, big need for home delivered meals,” said Schmoll. “By receiving delivered meals, seniors are able to stay in their own homes longer. A lot of our seniors don’t eat the full meal at once anyway, but instead break it into two meals.“Having home delivery also means that at least once a day, a family’s loved one is being checked on,” she said. Officials at the Henry County Senior Center were given three weeks to make the cuts, which included laying off one staff member.“There’s a possibility more cuts might be coming, but we’re praying this is it,” said Schmoll. “It all depends on what Congress decides to do.”If the Older Americans Act is passed by Congress, funding should be restored to the organization, allowing for meals to be delivered every Friday.“We’re hoping they do bring our funding back, but it’s so hard to speculate,” said Schmoll.At the moment, the every-other Friday meal delivery schedule will continue.“We tried to set it up so only one (skipped) Friday falls in a pay period. We didn’t want our staff members missing out on two days of pay,” she noted.In addition to federal funding, the Henry County Senior Center receives money from the state.“The state finally sent a small check to catch up (what is owed) for this year,” said Schmoll. “However, we’re about $30,000 behind from last year. In the grand scheme of things, compared to what is owed to the school districts, $30,000 isn’t much. But for a little organization like ours, it makes a bit difference.”Schmoll said she’s thankful the organization is “blessed” with local support.“Churches, the United Way, private donors and civic organizations in our area are amazing. There will be weeks at the end of the month when we’ll wonder how we’re going to pay our bills and then, for some miracle reason, a check will show up and we’ll be able to pay our bills,” she said.Seniors partaking in the meals also are encouraged to make a suggested donation of $2.75 for a home delivered meal and $2.50 for a meal at a congregated meal site, but Schmoll said meals are provided, even for those who can’t pay the suggested fee.“The meals always include a meat, some type of potato, noodle or rice, a vegetable, dessert, milk and bread. They couldn’t go anywhere else and get a similar meal for the same price,” she said.Even though funding is tight, Schmoll said she encourages local seniors to stop by a meal site such as the Geneseo Community Center, for lunch.Meals are served at noon and it is recommended that reservations be made a day in advance.“The more people who come and eat, the more the government will realize there is a need for the service,” she said.“Some people have a misconception that if they eat one of our meals, they’ll be taking it away from a poor person who might need it. That’s not the case. Nobody is taking food away from anyone else, and there is no financial criteria for our meals. We don’t care if you’re a mega-millionaire or if you’re dirt poor. The only criteria is that you have to be age 60 or older.”Schmoll said she encourages local residents to contact their representatives in Congress and urge them to pass the Older Americans Act.“We need to see funding restored to what it was. There’s no reason for our seniors to suffer,” she said.Several fund-raisers have been planned to help the Henry County Senior Center. At 2 p.m. April 21, the organization will host its annual Branson Show, featuring musical performers from Branson, Mo. The group also will host a golf outing in June.Donations also may be mailed to: Henry County Senior Center, 219 W. 2nd St., Kewanee, IL 61443.To make a meal reservation or for more information on the Branson Show, contact Kathy Minder at the Geneseo Senior Center at 944-3793.